{
  "id": 7322332,
  "title": "SHC suspends PMDC's return orders for Afghan medical students",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/shc-suspends-pmdcs-return-orders-for-afghan-medical-students",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-14T12:59:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2029882/shc-suspends-pmdcs-return-orders-for-afghan-medical-students"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Karachi: On Monday, the Sindh High Court (SHC) temporarily halted the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s (PMDC) orders for Afghan medical students to return to Afghanistan. The suspension remains in place until the next hearing on September 29. A panel of two judges, led by Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, heard the case following a petition from three Afghan students. The PMDC had issued a notice on September 1, instructing Afghan students enrolled in Pakistani colleges to return to Afghanistan and prohibiting colleges from admitting or placing Afghan students for the current academic year. The petitioners include the state, the Ministry of Interior, the PMDC, the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), the Sindh police inspector general, and the SHO of Eidgah police station in Karachi. The court has subsequently issued notices to the respondents, the additional attorney general, and the advocate general of Sindh for the September 29 hearing. The court temporarily suspended the challenged notices, prohibiting any coercive actions against the petitioners until then. The three students are currently enrolled at DUHS under the Allama Mohammad Iqbal Scholarship Programme and are set to graduate in April 2027. The petition claims that the students possess valid Pakistani visas on their Afghan passports while pursuing their studies. The petition argues that the PMDC's actions violate Articles 4, 9, 10-A, 14, and 25 of the Pakistani Constitution. Articles 4 and 9 guarantee equal treatment for all individuals within Pakistan, while Articles 14 and 10-A ensure rights to life, liberty, dignity, and a fair trial. Article 25 prohibits discrimination. The petition further contends that the female students would face gender-based persecution and a total ban on education for females in Afghanistan, rendering their educational and professional futures in jeopardy. The petition seeks the court to declare the PMDC's orders and DUHS's notices as \"unconstitutional, ultra vires, arbitrary, without lawful authority, and devoid of any legal effect against the petitioners.\" The petitioners urge the court to permit them to continue their MBBS studies, attend clinical rotations, reside in college hostels, and take examinations without interference or harassment. They also request the court to restrain the respondents from taking any actions against the petitioners that may hinder their completion of MBBS degrees in Pakistan and their stay in hostel premises.",
  "summary": "KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday suspended Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s (PMDC) directives ordering Afghan medical students to return to their country until the next hearing on Sept 29. A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, heard the case after three Afghan students filed a petition challenging the PMDC notification as being without jurisdiction. The PMDC…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn - Pakistan",
        "title": "SHC suspends PMDC's return orders for Afghan medical students",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/shc-suspends-pmdcs-return-orders-for-afghan-medical-students-7323746",
        "published": "2026-09-14T12:59:28.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}